The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case about a Maryland school district’s policies to support transgender students and when parents may challenge them. The court’s action in Parents 1 v. Montgomery County Board of Education was not a decision on the merits, but the case is emblematic of a widespread national debate over gender identity policies in public schools and parental rights. “Schools across the country over the past few years have adopted policies similar to that involved here that require school personnel to hide from parents—lying if need be—that the school is assisting their child to transition gender at school,” said the appeal filed by three unidentified parents in their case against the 160,000-student Montgomery County district outside the nation’s capital.